


The Alternia Dance Band

by Gloriouscommunistcoat



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bands, Alternate Universe - College/University, Band Fic, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:16:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4537686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gloriouscommunistcoat/pseuds/Gloriouscommunistcoat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Homestuck AU featuring a large portion of the cast in a university setting. John and Jane are twins who wish to start up an extracurricular big band with their family and friends. Lots of relationships to be explored. Rated E for mature themes to come.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Day in the Life: John - Part I

It’s the first day of your sophomore year of college. Your roommate and best friend still isn’t awake, so this gives you some time to calmly begin your day. You always feel gross right away in the morning and can’t bear to do much else but get in the shower and wash away the night of tossing and turning in your bed. Not that you have frequent night terrors or anything, you just suck at getting comfortable as you doze off into unconsciousness. You slip on your light blue housecoat, one of the many parting gifts your father got you for when you moved away to start your education here. It’s already starting to get a bit worn in, but that just builds character, right? After the robe is tied securely around you, you slip your hands into the exposable crook of the coat to peel off your boxers. Although you’ve known him for years and he’s your bro, you would still feel weird being totally and completely exposed in the vicinity of Dave.

Looking into the bathroom mirror, a familiar complexion meets you. It’s one that been with you for a little over nineteen years, but it’s been constantly changing as you’ve aged. That dumb baby face still hasn’t matured yet though for you, has it John? Even just looking at your messy hair and unclean face in the mirror makes you cringe. After closing and locking the door, you disrobe, place a towel near the outside of the tub, and turn on the shower. You wait outside the bath in the nude for a brief moment before the testing the water. This college may be top-of-the-line, but the friggin’ heating isn’t luxurious. With another moment being used for complaining, you shove your hand in again and are pleased enough with the lukewarm water sprinkling into your palm.

Efficiency is what you’re all about in the morning, the shower only lasting a desirable ten minutes. No more, and no less. You probably took this bureaucratic method to living from your father. He’s still lighthearted all the while though, just as you love to be. Styling your hair is a pain and it just never quite works. Perhaps that’s because you only devote no more than thirty seconds to it before giving up and not bothering with it again until the next morning. Whatever, it’s already quarter past seven and Dave still isn’t up. Shoot, you forgot to bring in your clothes into the bathroom. That’s a couple seconds wasted. You could just get changed out there, but… Yeah, you just aren’t cool with that.

About a minute or two later you’re dressed in the bathroom and heading back out, the last of the steam from your shower following with you. Your roommate is still out cold in his bed and you saunter over to wake him the Hell up.

“Dave, get up you lazy ass,” you say while giving him a solid shake. Dave shoots a glance up from the pillow his head was buried in, his stark white albino hair still looking prim and proper. He glares at you from crimson red eyes.

“Fooled you Egbert, I’ve been awake since six,” he retorts. Weirdo.

You sigh and break off to grab your glasses from your nightstand, “Okay cool, now go shower. We all planned to have breakfast together in the meal hall at seven-thirty. You don’t want to upset Jade, do you?” You know that one will get him.

Just as you expected, Dave shoots you another glare, this one a bit more searing than the last. “Just another stupid high school fling, John,” he finally gets up on this, clad only in his underwear. Your gaze is quickly averted. Dave was always comfortable in his own body and who he showed it off to. You don’t mind it, but it’s not something you want to partake in to any degree. Dave jumps in the shower as you check your phone. A few social media notifications from late in the night, a “good morning and good luck on your second year of university” text from your father, and a confirmation message from your twin that breakfast is indeed still on. You tap out a quick thanks to your dad and just leave the one from Jane. She knows you got it.

Dave is out in record time and soon ready to go, with five minutes to spare. Plenty of time to make your way over to the student centre. Odds are that Jane and Jade are already over there, probably Rose, Kanaya, and Roxy too. Jake and Dirk are usually late to events. Why is it always the men that lag behind? You swear you’d be on time to things if it wasn’t for Dave dragging you down. Still warm summer air wafts outside with the addition of autumn leaves, a beautiful combination of feeling and sights. Dave talks at you about how his DJ career is totally finally starting to take off and he’s going to leave your dumb band behind for good this time. You hate to admit that Dave is good at anything, but one thing's for sure, his drumming skills are better than his DJ capabilities, if you can even call them that. You laugh and quip back at him until you’ve entered the dining area.

Just as you guessed, you’re met with the appearance of your friends and family already settled in for first-day breakfast. Even Dirk and Jake beat you. You’re greeted with hellos and good mornings from the others as you sit approach the table. Dave grabs a seat next to his brother Dirk and asks you kindly to pick up his breakfast for him. You reluctantly agree and take his meal card from him. Rufioh, a fellow student who is a year ahead of you, tends the counter. His hair is intricately styled as per usual, the only thing missing is the tattered garbs he commonly wears, instead replaced with a blank student uniform signifying he works for the campus and attends classes. He gives a cool wave to you as you approach.

“Hey man… Good to see you again,” Rufioh chimes as you arrive at the counter. He takes both your card and Dave’s, knowing all too well how many times you’ve graciously picked up your best bro’s meals. Rufioh delivers two plates of a basic morning breakfast to you, nothing special, but certainly better than the cold cereal you would have had back at the dorm if you were running late.

Rufioh pipes up just before you leave with the trays of food, “John, my little brother is starting his first day here…, I’m stuck cleaning up in here for first period. Are you off?”

“Actually yeah, I am. Want me to meet up with him or something?” you ask. It’s not like you have much better to do, may as well show a new kid around a bit. You like being helpful, especially for your friends. Rufioh is more of an acquaintance than a friend, but he’s definitely chill in your books.

“That’d be real cool, if you don’t mind… Tavros is a bit shy and needs some guidance. I told him to swing by here in the morning…, I’ll introduce you two when he shows up,” Rufioh states. It feels kind of neat now being the “experienced” guy showing the newbies the ropes.

You give Rufioh a nod and head back over to your table. It seems they’re already deep in conversation. You sit down and slide Dave his food, then dig into your own. The topics of the morning are rather idle, so you zero in on finishing up your breakfast so you can be ready at a moment’s notice to meet with Tavros. As you finish up the food on your plate, your phone buzzes twice to signify an incoming text. You quickly whip out the device to see a message from Jane, who is quite clearly sitting across the table from you. She gives you a little smirk as you look up, clearly knowing you’ve received her message. You look back down into your lap and unlock your phone to take a look at what she sent you.

“Hey! There’s something I want to talk to you about, could be something big for all of us,” the message reads. Coincidentally, everyone starts clearing from the table to head to their morning classes or to get prepared for the day. Jake and Dirk head to microbiology, Rose to linguistics, Kanaya likely to some garments class, and you think you heard Jade and Roxy were off to the mechanics and electronics department, both saying they couldn’t wait to see their “favorite nerd Sollux” again. This left you, Jane, and Dave sitting at the table. Jane eyed you knowingly from across the way and you glanced over at your best friend, whose eyes were hidden behind those aviators you got him so many years ago.

“Dave, I think Jane has something she wants to discuss with me… in private,” you speak up after a moment of silence. Jane shushes you.

“Oh it’s all right! He’s practically one of the family anyway.” This seems pretty serious if it’s specially a “family” matter. You listen in, and notice that even Dave is paying closer attention to what Jane has to say now.

“Anyway, enough hootin’ and hollerin’ for now. Time for serious business!” Jane giggles a little to herself.

“What’s the deal, Crocker?” Dave asks, with a slight nod.

“Well, Dad Egbert gave me a call this morning and laid some nifty information out to me. It’s quite relevant to you John, and probably even you too Dave.”

“Why didn’t dad call me to tell me himself? I always knew I was the lesser twin…,” you half-heartedly pout. Really though, why did your dad only tell Jane about this?

“Because he knew you’d probably blab about it all over school! We really do kind of need to keep this information under wraps for now, at least until a few things get confirmed. As you know, everyone got quite a bit of inheritance from Grandpa Harley and Grandma English, God rest their souls.”

Although you never knew them until Jade and Jake had arrived here in America, they were technically family. Family that apparently knew of their long line of relatives and had a lot of money to go around. You continue to listen to your sister.

“Surprisingly, dad got quite a number. Besides Jake and Jade, and a few other close relatives, our father got some of the most from them. Now, he’s interested in, along with other people, pooling together some of their inheritance, and investing it into renting a space.”

You eye her curiously. “What kind of space?”

“A music hall. There’s one that the owner wants to lease out about fifteen minutes from campus. He wants to see us, along with the others, to put together a big band of sorts.”

You and your sister have been going to school for music education. You couldn’t exactly get into the exclusive schools that are completely centred around the arts, plus you didn’t want to be far away from family and friends. This university does have a solid performing arts department though, and offers an undergraduate diploma for fine arts, which you and Jane could use to further your education at other institutions. The both of you want to get into conducting and teaching, you more so on the instrumental side and Jane devout to chorus and vocals.

“And that’s all I’m gonna say for now! I need to get to class, we’ll discuss more on this later. Both of you keep your pie holes shut, got it?”

Both you and Dave nod quickly and your twin leaves with a smile to her… cooking class, maybe? Dave gets up a moment later.

“That’s exciting I guess. Time to nap.”

Dave heads back to your dorm. Rufioh comes up to you, with who you can assume is Tavros. Rufioh is light-skinned, but his brother is… a Spaniard?

“Hey John, this is Tavros… Tav, this is John. He’s gonna show you around the campus and take you to your second period class… You need any help and I’m not around, this is the guy to go to. He’s real nice.”

You give Tavros a welcoming smile, “Hi Tavros, it’s nice to meet you.” You extend your arm and open palm for a handshake. The younger Nitram brother takes a moment before he returns the pleasantry. Tavros then takes a seat beside you. Rufioh leans down beside you.

“Take care of him for me, yeah? Thanks a bunch…”

Rufioh heads back to the kitchen and you’re left alone with Tavros.

“Well, shall we explore?”

You’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a good day.


	2. A Day in the Life: John - Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John shows Tavros around the campus and meets a few other of this year's freshmen.

“So are you staying in residence somewhere? I know your brother stays on campus, so I would assume that you’d be in the same sort of situation,” Tavros takes a moment to register your inquiry as he looks around the grand entrance to the main building of Mobius University.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I’m staying with my, err, friend,” he finally says to you. Rufioh wasn’t kidding when he said this kid is painfully shy. You continue to show him around a bit, but it turns out Tavros remembered most of the tour he received with everyone else a month ago. You decide to go back to Tavros’ dorm room when he remembers that his “friend” still probably hasn’t risen from bed. You swear almost everyone you meet has some kind of chronic sleeping problem. Maybe that’s just university life. Tavros seems a bit nervous about going back to his room with you by his side.

“I could wait outside if you want,” you say to him as you approach the building your new friend is housed at.

“What? Why would you do that?”

“Uh, well you seem a bit nervous.”

Tavros stares blankly back at you before letting out a small laugh, “Oh I suppose I’m always… nervous. It’s okay, I just hope Gamzee is at least somewhat decent…” Tavros tries to hide a bit of a blush but you catch it. Ohhh. Now you think you get it. Well, this is nothing foreign to you. Rose and Kanaya are very much a thing and you’ve always had your suspicions about Dirk and Jake. You’re now at Tavros’ door; he gives a light knock to it, but is interrupted midway when it swings wide open. A dark-skinned man, similar to Tavros is standing in the frame. The skin tone is a bit different compared though, somewhat lighter. He’s significantly taller than you and Tavros and has a dopey grin on his face.

“Tav! Bro I woke up not ten minutes ago and I just couldn’t find a motherfucker. Where you been?” Gamzee eyes you after posing his question to his best bro. Gamzee straightens a bit and becomes more… defensive.

“Who’s this?”

“Gamz, this is John. He’s a friend of Rufioh and he’s uh, showing me around the campus,” Tavros defends your being there. Gamzee alleviates pretty quickly and is back to the relaxed man you saw a moment ago.

You decide you can now appropriately speak, “Hello Gamzee, it’s nice to meet you. Are you ready for the day? Second period starts in about fifteen minutes.”

“Yeah Gamzee, do you know where you’re going?” Tavros asks. Gamzee goes wide-eyed for a second and then turns on his heel to head back into the room. He comes back with a schedule.

“Let’s see… oh shit yeah! Kanaya told me about this one I’ve got with her. Motherfuckin’ tapestry,” Gamzee’s face lights up knowing he’s got a class with a friend. You didn’t know that Kanaya was friends with this guy. You really don’t actually know much about anybody outside your close-knit group of family and friends… Yet, they all seem to get out a lot more than you, don’t they? That’s something that will definitely need to change this year.

“And Tavros has auto mechanics, which is in the same building. So I’ll take you both there!”

You, Tavros, and Gamzee begin the trek to the mechanical arts building after the lanky boy got himself dressed. You arrived there early to get the two boys settled into their separate classes, and so you would have enough time to dart over to the English department of the campus. You wave goodbye to Tavros after dropping him off at auto mechanics, apparently with two boys he already knows. You didn’t have time to introduce yourself to them, but you’re sure you’ll see them around later anyway.

Now that you’re in a not-so-stimulating environment of English Literature and Composition you get to think about the prospects of this project your father and Jane were talking about. Seriously why didn’t he talk to you first? That’s gonna irk you for a while. Anyway, this is totally exciting! Shit, you should probably write down that author’s name. Writing should be about free expression, why must you pine for the approval of this professor so you can get a descent mark? Okay, back to band stuff. So cool.

Right now, the grey area is the financing. It probably won’t be difficult to pool together the money, but well, will Jake and Jade be willing? You guys obviously need a fair chunk of their inheritance since they got the most. You’d definitely poor in all of yours just to get this going. Well, maybe not all, but a lot within reason. It’s your dream to one day conduct an orchestra of some sort, so getting to start off with some kind of big band in university would be wicked awesome. Oh shit, was that on the summer reading list? You’re gonna need to SparkNotes that tonight.

Period two over, now off to music theory. Finally, something you could maybe actually bear to sit through. You’re more interested in abstract theory, not the whole science behind it all. It’s all useful and you’re paying for it, you suppose. After making the quick sprint to the fine arts building, you climb the stairs to the classroom floor. Below are all the wide open spaces for hands-on courses. You arrive at the class and survey your fellow classmates. You knew Jane would be here, and it looks like she’s already made a new friend. Or is that an old friend you just never knew about?

“Oh look, there’s my twin brother now. John, come over here and meet Calliope!” Jane beckons to you once she notices you entering the classroom. You walk over to join the conversation.

“Hi there, what’re you guys talking about?”

“We were discussing the similarities between ourselves. You two are twins that are very into music, and well, you’ll see when my brother shows up that we too enjoy musical performance,” Calliope explains to you.

“Although, he is a fair bit more brash than most… I’m guessing you’re pleasant and mannered like your sister,” she continues.

“Unless Jane told you otherwise, I’d have to agree with that statement,” you say. Just then, there’s a loud slam of the door opening, and Calliope sighing and burying her head in her hands.

“Here he is…,” she mutters into the palms of her hands.

“Callie! Where the fuck are you?”

“Over here, Caliborn,” she reluctantly answers. You already don’t like this guy, immediately acting so rude in class and… speaking that way to his sister is just absolutely crass!

“I came to this university. For what? To learn about how my bassoon works? I blow air into it! Simple!” Caliborn complains to his sister.

“If you want your undergrad, you’re gonna have to take a few required courses, all right? Now please, could you be a bit more… mild? You’re in public.”

“Oh fuck off with that, bitch. Who the Hell are these guys?” Caliborn points towards you and your sister.

“This is Jane. She’s training to become a vocal conductor. This is her brother, erm…,” Callie begins to introduce you but seems stuck on the name.

You stare at Caliborn with a repulsive look on your face, “John.” You don’t want to bother with explaining to this guy who you are and what you want to be. The less he seems to know about you, the better.

“Right. I don’t care,” Caliborn replies and goes off to a corner to sit down. Luckily his spiel is done when the professor enters to begin class. You pull up a chair with your sister and Calliope and intently listen to the introductory lecture. You glance over at Caliborn a few times during the hour, and every time it looks like he’s just… drawing in a notepad. You pity Calliope for having to live with this monster.

After class ends it’s time for lunch. So far you like hanging out with Callie, but Caliborn always seems to trail behind with her. For someone who seems to hate everyone he can’t really separate from a crowd he knows for too long. You meet everyone at the usual spot for lunch. Looks like the friend group is going to get bigger whether you want it to or not. You really do think it’ll be good to expand on your social circle.

Seated at the table are the usual people: yourself, Jane, Jade, Dave, Roxy, Jake, and Dirk. Apparently Rose and Kanaya are off on a lunch date. Cute. There are some new faces among the group today, a few you’ve already met today: Calliope and Caliborn, Tavros, Gamzee, and those two boys from auto mechanics where you dropped Tavros off. You nudge Tavros, who jumps a little at the sudden contact, and ask him to introduce you to them. See, you’ve got no problem with meeting new people, you just won’t stop talking to them! A moment later you’ve become acquainted with the Zahhak brothers: Equius and Horrus. You think that Chinese boy next to Roxy is the “big nerd” she and Jade always go on about. Sollux is his name? Something like that.

You overhear Caliborn chatting at Dirk, “Wow, those are some real cool guy shades. You must be the coolest kid at this lame table.”

“Uh, sure,” Dirk ignores Caliborn and continues his conversation with Jake on their third period engineering class material.

“Haha. Yeah.” This is a sudden and weird side of Caliborn. He seems kind of… flustered? You suppose Dirk is, objectively speaking, an attractive man, but from the hour you spent in Caliborn’s presence he doesn’t really seem like the type to get schoolboy crushes so easily.

Jane sends you another text. It asks you to break off from the group a few minutes after she does and meet her in the library to discuss the “big secret project!!!” She gets up a moment later and heads towards the exit of the meal hall. You have a quick talk with Tavros to make sure he still knows what he’s doing for the rest of the day, and then excuse yourself from the table. Just as you walk out the entrance doors, you get a call from Jane.

“Hey, I’m on my way.”

“Stop right there and go back! Get Jake and Jade for me. I think we need to include them in this now. See you soon bro!”

You turn around and head back to the table to round up your cousins.


	3. A Day in the Life: Tavros - Part I

The Alternia Dance Band

 

    Your alarm goes off for 6:30, but you always seem to be awake about five minutes before it’s set for. Must be some internal clock mechanism. You find yourself trapped by your… partner’s long, embracing arms. You know he doesn’t like to wake up early, so you gently slide out from his grasp to silence the buzzing from your phone. You unlock the device and see a reminder message from your brother sent an hour earlier. He has to get up at an ungodly hour to set up the campus kitchen for breakfast. You’re supposed to meet up with a friend of his so you can get another quick tour of the school before your day starts. Yeah, you’re nervous.

 

    A lot of people say the Mohawk hairdo suits you, but it just seems kind of… fake to you. Your brother has a similar style, a lot more vibrant and cooler though. It matches his personality much more than your hair does to your own. Kind of weird that something like hair can describe a person. You do your best to be a courageous person, but to be honest you’re a wimp. At least that’s what you think. Your boyfriend, err, bunk-buddy would say otherwise. Gamzee has always been a big supporter of you, and it’s something you of course greatly appreciate. Time to stop looking at yourself in the mirror and keep getting ready.

 

    You feel a bit apprehensive leaving Gamzee on his own to get ready, but he’s usually able to handle himself. This is a totally different environment for him though… Shoot, you’re late to meet John!

 

    “Bye, Gamz!” you quietly call out to the occupied bed before gently closing the door behind you. He matters a lot to you. A lot of people don’t understand what you are to each other, and sometimes even you aren’t so sure.

 

    Breakfast is over in the meal hall, you hope John didn’t just decide to leave because you didn’t show up on time… A warm feeling grows in the pit of your stomach, but not the good kind. It’s the one that makes you nauseous and dizzy. Your brother would be so upset if you screwed up your first day before classes had even started.

 

    You’re about to burst into the building, but hold yourself back so you don’t accidentally bring unwarranted attention to yourself. You slowly, ever-so-painfully slowly open the door and slip in. Rufioh is already starting to clean up the kitchen so you waste no time in greeting him.

 

    “Uh, hey bro. Sorry I’m late…”

 

    Rufioh turns away from his work and beams at you, “Oh hi Tav. It’s no problem man… Come on, let’s not keep John waiting.”

 

    Rufioh leads you over to a boy with similar skin tone to your brother. John gives you a quirky look… the same you’ve seen many times before. The one that says, “If you two are related why is he white and you’re brown?” You’re Spanish. You were adopted. End of story.

 

    An hour later and John is dropping you and Gamzee off at your class. Gamzee’s class with Kanaya is first, so he hugs you goodbye. It’s a bit awkward being affectionate with him in front of John, whom you’ve known for what seemed like only a fraction of a second in your mind. Gamzee spares you a kiss and instead heads inside to locate his friend. John guides you in silence to the auto mechanics class. You’re unsurprised but happy to see that Equius and Horrus are in this program, so after bidding farewell to John, you sit down at the shop table with them.

 

    This is a boring lecture class about what you’ll be doing throughout the semester. Equius and Horrus pay close attention, even though they clearly already know everything. This will mostly be new stuff to you, but all this talking about the layout of the course is so dull. You’d rather actually be working with your hands right now instead of learning how you’ll be doing it. Just figure it out as you go! Unfortunately, that has ended poorly many times… As always for courses like this, you’ll have to do the WHMIS test. You wish you could just do a general one for all the classes instead of having to do it over and over again for each course.

 

    Auto mechanics class ends and you head out for the next one of the day. You desperately search for your campus map among all the supplies in your backpack. You’re always way over prepared. Equius notices you struggling and kindly offers you his copy. You take it sheepishly, just thinking to look it over for a moment to find your way, but Equius is already gone and left you with it. Comparing it with your schedule, you find that your next class is in the English department. Although you’ll be forced to sit through lecture again, at least it’s for a subject you particularly love! Old English Mythology. Before you can get into other regions’ lore you need to study the mainstream stuff you already know, but it’s always so interesting to read about.

 

    Once again, since it’s the first day, things are pretty slow in class. The teacher reminds everyone about where to find the syllabus, and many required texts. Forty-five minutes later and class is coming to an end. Because this is a specialty course, an essay had to be submitted with your application. She hands back those papers with marks. You know you obviously passed since you’re in the class, but you’re anxious to see how well you actually did. The topic was on the relevance of English folklore today. You chose to use the modern adaptations from Disney and how they’ve contributed to keeping old mythology alive. It was one of the more enjoyable pieces you’ve written for school, if it’s possible to enjoy those at all.

 

    The professor hands your assignment back and she gives you a smile, “That was a nice read, Mr. Nitram. There’s always room for improvement, though.”

 

    “Thank you ma’am…, and yes of course, always,” you reply with a shy smile. She nods and continues to give back the essays. You take a deep breath and look at your grade. 89%. Hey that’s not bad! Pretty great actually. You carefully put the paper into your binder and close it back up, waiting to be dismissed. The professor remarks that overall she was impressed with everyone’s essays and hopes to see more great work in the future. You’ve got a good feeling about this class.

 

    You enter into the meal hall for the second time today. After grabbing your lunch, your brother directs you to the table where John should be sitting. He isn’t there yet though… Wait, is that Gamzee? He was always one to get comfortable with everyone. You cautiously sit next to the familiar taller boy, waiting for someone to be puzzled by your sudden appearance at their table… but no one really says anything. Not exactly inviting, but they certainly don’t seem to mind you being here.

    You begin to survey the people around you, the new faces whom you may be hanging out with for the rest of the year. On the other side of the table from you are what you can deduce are John’s friends. A few girls and boys… The blonde-haired one with aviator shades is kind of cute. He looks pretty disinterested in what’s going on around him though. Sollux, a friend who was a year ahead of you in high school, sits with a girl who has big round glasses and beautiful black hair. She even has a darker skin tone like yours, you just can’t quite place it. Pacific origins, that’s for sure. You hear from Gamzee that Kanaya is off with Rose. You’ve met Rose on a few occasions, and from what you can tell you like her. Equius and Horrus join the table a few minutes after you and sit close to you but leave a few chairs between you and them. Later, John and some others arrive. He’s with a girl who looks strikingly similar to him, and two others that look like twins too.

 

    John sits next to you, and after some time into lunch he asks you to introduce the Zahhak twins to him. They aren’t exactly social, but they are always courteous, so they oblige in greeting John. He later gets up to leave, saying he has to attend to some “business” and that he probably won’t be back before lunch is over. He actually does come back a few moments later to quickly gather up some of his pals, but he’s off again just as soon as he arrived. As lunch draws to a close you leave early to get to your next class. Gamzee says he has Medieval History with Eridan. You’ve got… Botany. With nobody you’ve met yet, as far as you know. Your best friend heads off to the Global Studies wing and you’re off to the Science department.

 

    John waves to you with a goofy grin when he enters the class. Oh goody. John is a swell guy but he’s a bit overbearing. Better get used to it, you might be able to avoid him in the halls, but class is a whole other dilemma. The girl with nice hair and round glasses from lunch looks up from her gaze on John to smile at you. She says goodbye to him and goes to join another table. Like a fair amount of your other friends (which you suppose includes John), you’re here for the excellent arts program, but no matter what program you take at Mobius University, there’s always required courses. Tech isn’t so bad, but science just isn’t all that appealing to you. You happen to be good at it, but that’s only because you felt you didn’t have much of a choice if you wanted to be successful, so you applied yourself. Impressively this institution offers some interesting looking courses: Botany is the study of plants, and during the second semester you’re slated for an intro to Zoology class. After getting that prerequisite, you could take a course on Animal Behaviour, which is something you do actually find fascinating. If music doesn’t seem to be working out, you could definitely see yourself moving onto veterinarian school.

 

    There’s a bit of casual banter between you and John before class begins. He asks you how your day has been so far, all the usual pleasantries. You give him vague answers, just wanting class to start. You think he gets the point and he starts taking out his own supplies. This is usually a second-year course, thus why John is here, but you took advanced biology in high school, which lets you skip ahead in any institution that recognizes the AP classes. Arts scholarships were stretched thin among the talented people at school, so you opted to go for a few sciences. It turned out to be worth it, earning you multiple thousands-dollar bursaries so long as you take a certain number of science courses and keep up a high average.

 

    “Psst! Tavros!”

 

    Who was that? You turn around to see… Holy shit! It’s one of your best friends Aradia!

    “Ah! Hey Aradia, it’s so good to see you,” you say to her, beaming. She’s just as excited to see you in a class with her as well.

 

    John butts in, “Oh, is this one of your friends?”

 

    “Uh, yes. John, this is Aradia,” you acquaint the two.

 

She shakes his hand and speaks up, “Hello John. Tavros and I went to high school together, we became good friends in our AP Biology classes.”

 

“Ohhh, so that’s how you got in here, Tav! It’s not usual for freshmen to get into sophomore courses,” John explains. Did he just call you Tav? That’s kind of a… close friend kind of name for you. Not that you’ll tell him not to refer to you as that, it’s just a little weird for you.

 

“Quiet please, everyone,” the professor announces. You hope you can catch up with Aradia before you have to part ways for the last class of the day.

 

At the ring of the bell, you’re lucky to get just a minute to chat with Aradia. She has to get going because her next period is in another building. You just have to move a floor upwards to make your way towards Psychology. Unfortunately there was no one you knew in this class, and everyone seemed pretty reserved to themselves. Oh well, guess that means you won’t get distracted by anyone. The professor actually starts off with a few interesting videos on the subject, including that infamous prison experiment, and one about a scientist pretending to be some duckling’s mother. You find that cute and fascinating at the same time.

 

Wow, you’re at the end of your first day of classes. You know what? It wasn’t too bad either. You wonder if Gamzee has anything planned for this evening. You begin the trek back to the dormitories with a little spring in your step.

 


	4. A Day in the Life: Jane

The Alternia Dance Band

 

    After calling John to change the plan and grab your cousins, you’re once again alone in the library. Well, there’s a few people around, but most are still on lunch break. You’re a bit nervous about this “meeting”. It’s really more of a discussion about what you and dad are wanting to put together, and to see if Jake and Jade are on board. Your father, John, and you can cover the actual cost of leasing the place. What you need from your cousins is some money for instrument rentals. Apparently the space comes with a grand piano, but that’s all they’re willing to throw in. Dave has his own drum kit, maybe you guys could move the upright piano in from home, and Jade’s got a few guitars… Plus, odds are some people will have their own instruments already. Bigger pieces like cellos and double-basses, and oh goodness you’d love to have a harp…

 

    Perhaps you’re thinking too big. You should consult with John on all the instruments, your expertise is vocals and those are usually inexpensive. Really just need the people and a few mics. Although… some higher end audio equipment would be great too… Jeeze! Slow down Jane, and wait to discuss the very concept with your family. Jake and Jade might have zero interest from the beginning for all you know. It’ll be fine. Music is more of a hobby to them than a profession, but you’re sure they’d love to support you and John on this anyway they can. Even if they can’t spare money, you’ll make do. You always have.

 

    “Ah! There you are,” you greet John and his train of distant family with a smile. You need to be cheerful and content through this. Although to most you come off as a very happy-go-lucky gal, you tend to have a short fuse when it comes to challenging situations. Securing some of your cousins’ inheritance from their dead caregivers so you can start a band? That’s a challenge. No flipping out if they aren’t into it! Keep a lid on it, honey.

 

    “What’s this about, Jane,” Jake asks you. Okay. Deep breath, let’s do this.

 

    “I’m glad you asked,” not really though, you’re kind of scared to do this. Come on, no regrets. Just go for it!

 

    “So how would you all like to give me a lot of money?”

 

    Ugh. Shit.

 

    “As much as I love you, what exactly for?” Jade wonders. Well, not a complete disaster yet so far. Yet.

 

    “My dad, your distant uncle of some sort, has made a great find recently,” you explain. Maybe you should have told your brother more about this so he could do the talking. He’s essentially just as unaware of the details as Jake and Jade are.

 

    You continue, “It’s this music hall just a few minutes away from here. With a little help from everyone, we’d like to get a sort of band started. Like a dance band.”

 

    “Oh. Sounds neat, Jane!” Jake exclaims, although clearly still oblivious to the part where his money comes in.

 

    “You’re right, it does seem pretty neat. But for this to all come together, we all need to pitch in…,” you doubt he’ll pick up, odds are Jade will chime in any moment now saying they aren’t interested.

 

    “Need any heavy lifting done to move instruments and such? I’d be happy to lend a hand,” Jake offers. It really is a stretch getting him to understand stuff if you don’t outright explain it.

 

    “Jake, I think Jane is saying that they’re going to need some of our inheritance to afford all this,” Jade interrupts. Well, the cat’s out of the bag now. John is still pretty silent, just taking the entirety of it in. It’s rare you get a few moments of quiet out of him.

 

    “Yes, it’s true we would need your financial support. I understand if you aren’t interested, but I think it would be a great opportunity for all of us. Jade, you could be an instrumental section leader. You’re proficient in enough instruments to take on that role. Also Jake, this would be a great chance for you to harness your singing abilities. With some assistance from me, you could be something absolutely spectacular,” you feel like you’re pleading with them. From the look on their faces though, you can see some real consideration.

 

    “Well, you’ve got me hooked. How much do you need, Jane?” Jake has always been naïve, he needs his sister to keep him in line. She doesn’t cut him off though.

 

    “Uh, are you sure you want to do this? What do you think, Jade?”

 

    “Well, I’m not opposed to the idea. Jake,” she gestures to her brother.

 

    “This is meant to be part of our life savings. Should this music hall and band be a part of our lives?” Jade asks.

 

    Jake thinks about it for a moment and excitedly responds, “Yeah! It’ll be lots of fun and we’ll get to meet so many other musicians!”

 

    You smile fondly at Jake’s willingness to contribute to what is essentially your dream. Jade makes asks the big question, “Well, what exactly do you need from us?”

 

    “Well first dad, John, and I have to secure the lease. Then I think all of us should meet to talk about instrument prices, because that’s where you two will come in,” you inform her.

 

    “Sounds good, let us know when it’s time to meet. John, you’ve got Botany next right?” Jade asks your silent twin.

 

    John comes out of his minor stupor of mulling over the situation and perks up a bit, “Oh, yeah! Let’s head over there now. See you later Jane! … You too, Jake.”

 

    John and Jade head off towards the science building and you’re left with Jake. After a moment of awkward silence he queries, “So… what class do you have next?”

 

    “I have a free period,” you reply. You can see Jake light up.

 

    “I do too! Want to grab a coffee?”

 

    You offer him a warm grin, “Sure.”

 

    “Want me to cover?” Jake, always the gentleman.

 

    “Ah, no. You could be covering quite a bit in the near future. It’s on me this time,” you sheepishly answer, knowing you need to stay on his good side. You’re not sure if he even has a bad side, but you’re not risking it. The two of you head off to the little café a block away.

**Author's Note:**

> Now for the editor to write a story. Plushies and Chisel will be switching roles, with Chisel creating this little fan fic. It may be a little slow to start just to get things set up and established.


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